THE CHRISTIAN COUNTY COAL MINE WARS
1932-1935
THINK IN TIME
As you listen to the oral histories in this section you must make a decision as to which side you will take in this conflict. You must understand that there is no remaining neutral. You will be required to pick sides not only at work but also at school, church, and very possibly within your own family. No matter what side you take you will lose friendships and those relationships will almost certainly be damaged for the remainder of your life.FOR MORE INFO ON THE MINE WAR VISIT GREG BOOZELL'S GREAT WEB SITE AT: http://minewar.org/
As you listen to the oral histories in this section you must make a decision as to which side you will take in this conflict. You must understand that there is no remaining neutral. You will be required to pick sides not only at work but also at school, church, and very possibly within your own family. No matter what side you take you will lose friendships and those relationships will almost certainly be damaged for the remainder of your life.FOR MORE INFO ON THE MINE WAR VISIT GREG BOOZELL'S GREAT WEB SITE AT: http://minewar.org/
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, miners in Christian County, Illinois struggled with the coal company and sometimes the union itself to make improvements in the safety and operation of the mines. According to most miners it was as late as the 1960s before conditions really began to improve to a point where the company fulfilled its obligations to insure the safety of its workers.
In 1932, when United Mine Worker's President John L. Lewis proposed a wage reduction from $6.10 to $5.00 an hour, Illinois miners voted strongly against it. Lewis promptly began a speaking tour of Illinois in what he called an ''educational campaign'' to get Illinois miners to accept the proposal.
On August 6, four days after a second vote was taken, many of the return sheets were supposedly stolen as they were being transported to the UMW headquarters to be counted. Rumors again spread, this time that the two men delivering the ballots had been seen handing them over to Fox Hughes, vice president of District No. 12.
John L. Lewis immediately proclaimed a state of emergency even though district officials claimed that the ballot disappearance would only delay the final count since the official ballots and copies were still on file at the local polling areas. Using his self-proclaimed emergency powers, Lewis stated that he and his staff were satisfied that the new contract had been approved by a majority of those voting.
The war was now on. Caravans of cars traveled to mines where workers had followed Lewis' back to work order and attempted to peacefully shut them down. Suddenly those remaining loyal to the United Mine Workers were scabs.
In Franklin County, a caravan, largely from Christian County was ambushed on August 24 by the sheriff and hundreds of his special deputies who beat up several of the members of this so-called ''Mulkeytown Caravan''. Many of these retreating miners regrouped in Benld, Illinois and formed the Progressive Miner's of America on September 1, 1932.
THINK IN TIME
As you listen to the oral histories in this section you must make a decision as to which side you will take in this conflict. You must understand that there is no remaining neutral. You will be required to pick sides not only at work but also at school, church, and very possibly within your own family. No matter what side you take you will lose friendships and those relationships will almost certainly be damaged for the remainder of your life..
In 1932, when United Mine Worker's President John L. Lewis proposed a wage reduction from $6.10 to $5.00 an hour, Illinois miners voted strongly against it. Lewis promptly began a speaking tour of Illinois in what he called an ''educational campaign'' to get Illinois miners to accept the proposal.
On August 6, four days after a second vote was taken, many of the return sheets were supposedly stolen as they were being transported to the UMW headquarters to be counted. Rumors again spread, this time that the two men delivering the ballots had been seen handing them over to Fox Hughes, vice president of District No. 12.
John L. Lewis immediately proclaimed a state of emergency even though district officials claimed that the ballot disappearance would only delay the final count since the official ballots and copies were still on file at the local polling areas. Using his self-proclaimed emergency powers, Lewis stated that he and his staff were satisfied that the new contract had been approved by a majority of those voting.
The war was now on. Caravans of cars traveled to mines where workers had followed Lewis' back to work order and attempted to peacefully shut them down. Suddenly those remaining loyal to the United Mine Workers were scabs.
In Franklin County, a caravan, largely from Christian County was ambushed on August 24 by the sheriff and hundreds of his special deputies who beat up several of the members of this so-called ''Mulkeytown Caravan''. Many of these retreating miners regrouped in Benld, Illinois and formed the Progressive Miner's of America on September 1, 1932.
THINK IN TIME
As you listen to the oral histories in this section you must make a decision as to which side you will take in this conflict. You must understand that there is no remaining neutral. You will be required to pick sides not only at work but also at school, church, and very possibly within your own family. No matter what side you take you will lose friendships and those relationships will almost certainly be damaged for the remainder of your life..
They [Progressive’s children] would get up and cuss you right in the schoolroom and the teachers wouldn’t do a thing about it. And I lost about twenty-two pounds that one year so I had to leave here and go to Taylorville for my last year of high school because of all the trouble and the talk. And my father was a company man NOT EVEN a union man.
Very few students my age felt comfortable even talking with me. One time when I was sixteen I had a boyfriend who lived down the street and didn’t work in the mine. He had come to visit me and on his way home he had to cross in front of an alley and someone shot at him.
It was just rough because people you had been so close to and such close friends with…why it just kind of split everybody up. They just weren’t as chummy. They kept their distance from me
Very few students my age felt comfortable even talking with me. One time when I was sixteen I had a boyfriend who lived down the street and didn’t work in the mine. He had come to visit me and on his way home he had to cross in front of an alley and someone shot at him.
It was just rough because people you had been so close to and such close friends with…why it just kind of split everybody up. They just weren’t as chummy. They kept their distance from me
Cuthbert Lambert interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
A Progressive's point of view
They had the militia here but it didn’t do any good because they had lists of people and cars that weren’t to be bother that they passed out to each militia group that came in. The only ones who wouldn’t play games with them were the group out of Chicago. They were here two weeks and they never did come back. They were a segment of the militia. I don’t know what battalion or whatever it was but when they come in here and they were told what to do and when to do it and who to do it with, they said, “Hu, uh.” We were brought in here to keep the peace and we’re going to patrol the streets and ain’t nobody going to tell us a damned thing. We’re going to do it our way. Who told them to do that? The company officials, Peabody officials.
John Wittka Interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
A UMW strikebreaker's point of view
We were strikebreakers, that's while it was good and hot.
We was strikebreakers in the little town of Langley over here. You should never live through that. That was horrible. Your best friends turned against you. Called you names, cuss you. They beat up my dad and uncle. My dad's face was like that [presses hand against face]. Oh, I tell you I will never forget that. Then when they all seen we was making money and nobody had a job. Progressives wasn't working they all started drifting one at a time (back) to the mine. I've hated them every since.
There was only three Germans in this town of Langley, we lived close together. There was us, a bachelor just east of us, my uncle, his wife and their boy lived right across the street. There was no one else except our German group working the mines at that time [1932].
They harassed the children, too. We had to lay out in the front yard and one in the back yard with a shotgun at night. They would throw rocks at the house. Throw rocks at anything they could see. It was plain hell. They finally went back to work, too. So they didn't accomplish a damn thing.
When we came to Taylorville that was all right because in Taylorville there was lots of people working in the mines, too. So I went to work in the militia truck, to and from work. It wasn't even safe to walk to work. We rode in the militia truck until some of those strikers went back to work from Langley
A Progressive's point of view
They had the militia here but it didn’t do any good because they had lists of people and cars that weren’t to be bother that they passed out to each militia group that came in. The only ones who wouldn’t play games with them were the group out of Chicago. They were here two weeks and they never did come back. They were a segment of the militia. I don’t know what battalion or whatever it was but when they come in here and they were told what to do and when to do it and who to do it with, they said, “Hu, uh.” We were brought in here to keep the peace and we’re going to patrol the streets and ain’t nobody going to tell us a damned thing. We’re going to do it our way. Who told them to do that? The company officials, Peabody officials.
John Wittka Interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
A UMW strikebreaker's point of view
We were strikebreakers, that's while it was good and hot.
We was strikebreakers in the little town of Langley over here. You should never live through that. That was horrible. Your best friends turned against you. Called you names, cuss you. They beat up my dad and uncle. My dad's face was like that [presses hand against face]. Oh, I tell you I will never forget that. Then when they all seen we was making money and nobody had a job. Progressives wasn't working they all started drifting one at a time (back) to the mine. I've hated them every since.
There was only three Germans in this town of Langley, we lived close together. There was us, a bachelor just east of us, my uncle, his wife and their boy lived right across the street. There was no one else except our German group working the mines at that time [1932].
They harassed the children, too. We had to lay out in the front yard and one in the back yard with a shotgun at night. They would throw rocks at the house. Throw rocks at anything they could see. It was plain hell. They finally went back to work, too. So they didn't accomplish a damn thing.
When we came to Taylorville that was all right because in Taylorville there was lots of people working in the mines, too. So I went to work in the militia truck, to and from work. It wasn't even safe to walk to work. We rode in the militia truck until some of those strikers went back to work from Langley
Ada Miller interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
A Progressive's point of view
I say to this day I think I am still a Progressive. I think that it was a good thing that they started but I guess that they just weren’t strong enough. The strike just went on for weeks and months and years and it finally broke their backs
A Progressive's point of view
I say to this day I think I am still a Progressive. I think that it was a good thing that they started but I guess that they just weren’t strong enough. The strike just went on for weeks and months and years and it finally broke their backs
THE BATTLE OF TOVEY Jesse Lake interview 1986 by Kevin Corley
A UMW strikebreaker's point of view
They [Progressive’s children] would get up and cuss you right in the schoolroom and the teachers wouldn’t do a thing about it. And I lost about twenty-two pounds that one year so I had to leave here and go to Taylorville for my last year of high school because of all the trouble and the talk. And my father was a company man NOT EVEN a union man.
Very few students my age felt comfortable even talking with me. One time when I was sixteen I had a boyfriend who lived down the street and didn’t work in the mine. He had come to visit me and on his way home he had to cross in front of an alley and someone shot at him.
It was just rough because people you had been so close to and such close friends with…why it just kind of split everybody up. They just weren’t as chummy. They kept their distance from me
Three or four of us used to ride together to the mine. This one time, I think it was about January 3, 1933, there were pickets lining both sides of the road at the entrance to the mine. This one particular night we noticed nobody was leaving the mine yard and word got around that the Progressives were going to keep us in the mine yard all night. So in the meantime someone came up with the bright idea to cut pieces of a cable that I think served power to the cutting machine. And they cut them like a billy club. They said, “We are going to go out and beat the hell out of those guys so we can get out and go home.” So, they proceeded to tie white arm bands around their arms so they could distinguish me from you [the Progressives from their own side] in the dark. This was in the winter time. I believe we got off at 4:00 or 4:30 and it was nearly dark or it was dark by the time they got together all that stuff. So, we proceeded to go out there and we no sooner got out that mine gate and it seemed like war broke loose. Boy, you heard, “Rat-a-tat-tat, boom, boom”, you know? When we got out there, those guys had white arm bands around their arms, too (laughs). Someone [for the Progressives] had learned that we was wearing white arm bands. So you didn’t know who was who.
And me and my brother and another guy we ran into a garage. I weighed about one hundred and fifteen pounds and when they started shooting I had enough sense to get back in that mine yard. I remember one thing distinctly. They started bringing people back into the mine yard that were shot. I remember one guy. They had his shorts pulled down and he was shot right through the cheeks of his rear. I can remember that just as plain as day.
That was the same night that Emma Cumerlatto was shot [and killed along with Vincent Rodems]. After that we started carrying guns to work
A UMW strikebreaker's point of view
They [Progressive’s children] would get up and cuss you right in the schoolroom and the teachers wouldn’t do a thing about it. And I lost about twenty-two pounds that one year so I had to leave here and go to Taylorville for my last year of high school because of all the trouble and the talk. And my father was a company man NOT EVEN a union man.
Very few students my age felt comfortable even talking with me. One time when I was sixteen I had a boyfriend who lived down the street and didn’t work in the mine. He had come to visit me and on his way home he had to cross in front of an alley and someone shot at him.
It was just rough because people you had been so close to and such close friends with…why it just kind of split everybody up. They just weren’t as chummy. They kept their distance from me
Three or four of us used to ride together to the mine. This one time, I think it was about January 3, 1933, there were pickets lining both sides of the road at the entrance to the mine. This one particular night we noticed nobody was leaving the mine yard and word got around that the Progressives were going to keep us in the mine yard all night. So in the meantime someone came up with the bright idea to cut pieces of a cable that I think served power to the cutting machine. And they cut them like a billy club. They said, “We are going to go out and beat the hell out of those guys so we can get out and go home.” So, they proceeded to tie white arm bands around their arms so they could distinguish me from you [the Progressives from their own side] in the dark. This was in the winter time. I believe we got off at 4:00 or 4:30 and it was nearly dark or it was dark by the time they got together all that stuff. So, we proceeded to go out there and we no sooner got out that mine gate and it seemed like war broke loose. Boy, you heard, “Rat-a-tat-tat, boom, boom”, you know? When we got out there, those guys had white arm bands around their arms, too (laughs). Someone [for the Progressives] had learned that we was wearing white arm bands. So you didn’t know who was who.
And me and my brother and another guy we ran into a garage. I weighed about one hundred and fifteen pounds and when they started shooting I had enough sense to get back in that mine yard. I remember one thing distinctly. They started bringing people back into the mine yard that were shot. I remember one guy. They had his shorts pulled down and he was shot right through the cheeks of his rear. I can remember that just as plain as day.
That was the same night that Emma Cumerlatto was shot [and killed along with Vincent Rodems]. After that we started carrying guns to work